World's first helmet with laser projection launches

A Kickstarter campaign has started today for the Beacon Helmet with a £60,000 funding goal, with the project born of UK-based inventor Jeff Zhang's vision to "make cycling much safer". 

It projects lasers either side of the cyclist and also in front of them to give drivers prior warning when a bike is approaching a junction. Beacon Helmet say the main issue it addresses is blind-spot accidents, by projecting a laser image 5-12 metres in front of the cyclist so they're visible even in the blind spot of lorries and buses when turning. They also say it could help to prevent pedestrians stepping into cyclists' path from behind parked cars. 

The Beacon Helmet also encourages drivers to leave a safe distance when overtaking by placing the side beams over a meter out either side. As well as the front and side lasers, the helmet has indictator lights, an extra large indicator button, a brake light that automatically comes on when it detects deceleration, and front and rear LED's. It's even got built-in speakers that can be used for turn-by-turn navigation in conjunction with third-party apps, or playing music - though Beacon Helmet don't recommend distracting yourself by blasting out the tunes in heavy traffic. It's USB rechargeable with an estimated battery life of 3-5 hours, and weighs 400g. 

The price is £249 on Beacon Helmet's website, with pre-orders already being taken. If you want to stay updated on the funding campaign, head over to their Kickstarter page.